Deltona man gets life in prison for shooting 2 deputies

Published: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 12:37 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 9:39 p.m.

A jury did not buy a Deltona man's explanation that the reason his pistol fired and wounded two deputies was because one of the lawmen gripped the man's gun hand during a struggle.

The jury of four men and two women took a little less than two hours Wednesday to find Corey Reynolds, 29, guilty of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer and another count of attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer.

After the verdict, Circuit Judge Margaret W. Hudson sentenced Reynolds to two life terms in prison to run concurrently.

Volusia County Sheriff's Deputy John Braman suffered wounds to an arm and a shoulder. Deputy John Brady was grazed in the shoulder. The jury returned the first-degree count in the case of Braman.

Reynolds had testified on Wednesday that the gun went off because of Braman's grip on his hand. “Basically, I was trying to protect myself and anybody from getting shot,” Reynolds said.

A deputy took Reynolds to the ground and Reynolds said he relaxed to let the deputies arrest him when his pistol tumbled out. He testified he was surprised to see the gun next to him on the grass. Reynolds said his hand ended up on his .40-caliber Smith & Wesson.

“Every time that I tried to make a movement to push my hand away, Braman was kind of countering my movements, so we were kind of opposing each other,” Reynolds testified. “If I went one way he would push the other. And subsequently his grip was not going to loosen. He wanted my hands so he had a firm grip on my hand, so when he squeezed, it was squeezing my thumb on the trigger.”

The gun fired at least six times, according to testimony.

Both deputies recovered from their wounds and were sitting in court as Reynolds testified with little or no apparent emotion about the shooting.

Braman didn't think much of Reynolds' blaming him for the gun going off.

“I thought it was the most preposterous thing I ever heard,” Braman said after the trial.

The shooting occurred Nov. 26, 2011, when the deputies went to Reynolds' home at 1545 Huntington St. in Deltona to arrest him. They were looking for Reynolds, who shortly before had fled from his ex-girlfriend's DeBary home after he reportedly threatened to strangle her, investigators said at the time.

When deputies responded to the house, Reynolds arrived from a nearby friend's house and stepped outside. Reynolds, who said he was a part-time limo driver, testified he had a concealed weapon's license at the time of the shooting.

“I had my gun on me because I was walking in the neighborhood in the middle of the night,” Reynolds said. “It's as good a time as any to carry protection.”

Prosecutor Erin Kelton asked him why he didn't tell deputies he had a gun.

“It felt to me like it would be interpreted as a threat,” Reynolds said.

Kelton asked him why he didn't drop the gun.

“Because his grip, I couldn't open my hand,” Reynolds said.

Defense attorney Jane Park called Joseph Thomas, a forensic science expert, and asked him if it was possible six shots could have been fired in the manner described by Reynolds.

“In the way the defendant described to me, if it had actually occurred like that, yes it's possible,” Thomas said.

Park also called Deputy Joseph Riley, who testified that about 25 minutes after the shooting when Reynolds was handcuffed and hobbled he expressed remorse.

“He said: ‘I'm sorry I didn't mean to do it. He grabbed the gun and it just went off,'¤” Riley said.

Kelton told jurors that Reynolds had tried to kill the deputies.

“To suggest that Deputy Braman did this to himself and to Deputy Brady, frankly, adds insult to injury,” Kelton said.

<p>A jury did not buy a Deltona man's explanation that the reason his pistol fired and wounded two deputies was because one of the lawmen gripped the man's gun hand during a struggle. </p><p> The jury of four men and two women took a little less than two hours Wednesday to find Corey Reynolds, 29, guilty of attempted first-degree murder of a law enforcement officer and another count of attempted second-degree murder of a law enforcement officer. </p><p> After the verdict, Circuit Judge Margaret W. Hudson sentenced Reynolds to two life terms in prison to run concurrently. </p><p> Volusia County Sheriff's Deputy John Braman suffered wounds to an arm and a shoulder. Deputy John Brady was grazed in the shoulder. The jury returned the first-degree count in the case of Braman. </p><p> Reynolds had testified on Wednesday that the gun went off because of Braman's grip on his hand. “Basically, I was trying to protect myself and anybody from getting shot,” Reynolds said. </p><p> A deputy took Reynolds to the ground and Reynolds said he relaxed to let the deputies arrest him when his pistol tumbled out. He testified he was surprised to see the gun next to him on the grass. Reynolds said his hand ended up on his .40-caliber Smith & Wesson. </p><p> “Every time that I tried to make a movement to push my hand away, Braman was kind of countering my movements, so we were kind of opposing each other,” Reynolds testified. “If I went one way he would push the other. And subsequently his grip was not going to loosen. He wanted my hands so he had a firm grip on my hand, so when he squeezed, it was squeezing my thumb on the trigger.” </p><p> The gun fired at least six times, according to testimony. </p><p> Both deputies recovered from their wounds and were sitting in court as Reynolds testified with little or no apparent emotion about the shooting. </p><p> Braman didn't think much of Reynolds' blaming him for the gun going off. </p><p> “I thought it was the most preposterous thing I ever heard,” Braman said after the trial. </p><p> The shooting occurred Nov. 26, 2011, when the deputies went to Reynolds' home at 1545 Huntington St. in Deltona to arrest him. They were looking for Reynolds, who shortly before had fled from his ex-girlfriend's DeBary home after he reportedly threatened to strangle her, investigators said at the time.</p><p> </p><p>When deputies responded to the house, Reynolds arrived from a nearby friend's house and stepped outside. Reynolds, who said he was a part-time limo driver, testified he had a concealed weapon's license at the time of the shooting. </p><p> “I had my gun on me because I was walking in the neighborhood in the middle of the night,” Reynolds said. “It's as good a time as any to carry protection.” </p><p> </p><p>Prosecutor Erin Kelton asked him why he didn't tell deputies he had a gun. </p><p> </p><p>“It felt to me like it would be interpreted as a threat,” Reynolds said. </p><p> </p><p>Kelton asked him why he didn't drop the gun. </p><p> </p><p>“Because his grip, I couldn't open my hand,” Reynolds said. </p><p> Defense attorney Jane Park called Joseph Thomas, a forensic science expert, and asked him if it was possible six shots could have been fired in the manner described by Reynolds. </p><p> “In the way the defendant described to me, if it had actually occurred like that, yes it's possible,” Thomas said. </p><p> Park also called Deputy Joseph Riley, who testified that about 25 minutes after the shooting when Reynolds was handcuffed and hobbled he expressed remorse. </p><p> </p><p>“He said: 'I'm sorry I didn't mean to do it. He grabbed the gun and it just went off,'¤” Riley said. </p><p> Kelton told jurors that Reynolds had tried to kill the deputies. </p><p> </p><p>“To suggest that Deputy Braman did this to himself and to Deputy Brady, frankly, adds insult to injury,” Kelton said.</p>